GIQ Research

How GIQ thinks about Keeper rankings

Keeper rankings are awkward because the most important input is often missing: the individual keeper cost. GIQ therefore treats a generic Keeper board as a Redraft-first ranking with a controlled future-value layer.

Why Keeper cannot simply equal Dynasty

In a full Dynasty league, the player remains an asset across seasons unless traded or dropped. In many Keeper leagues, managers retain only a limited number of players and often pay a draft-round cost. Without knowing that cost, a generic list should not behave like a permanent-asset ranking.

Why Keeper cannot simply equal Redraft either

Future value still matters. If two players are close for 2026 and one has a stronger age/timeline profile, a keeper manager can rationally prefer the younger asset. GIQ lets that future signal move the ordering without allowing it to overwhelm the current-season board.

Examples from the current PPR boards

PlayerRedraftKeeperDynasty
Bijan Robinson#1#1#1
Jahmyr Gibbs#2#2#2
Ja'Marr Chase#3#3#3
Puka Nacua#4#4#4
Christian McCaffrey#5#10#64
Jaxon Smith-Njigba#6#5#5
Jonathan Taylor#7#8#18
De'Von Achane#8#7#7
Amon-Ra St. Brown#9#6#6
James Cook#10#11#21
CeeDee Lamb#11#9#9
Justin Jefferson#12#12#11
Saquon Barkley#13#29#85
Chase Brown#14#20#33
Drake London#15#14#12
Derrick Henry#16#39#136
Rashee Rice#17#19#19
Brock Bowers#18#16#13

The useful pattern is the relationship among the three columns, not any single rank. Keeper generally follows Redraft at the top, then uses Dynasty information to break ties and adjust players whose future value is meaningfully different.

What a custom keeper-cost model would add

If GIQ later supports a keeper round or auction cost, the correct answer can change dramatically. A player who is only the 20th-best raw keeper may be the best value in the league if he costs a late-round pick. The current board deliberately avoids pretending it knows that information.

Method note: The examples on this page come from GIQ's own certified ranking dataset. Outside market rankings are not used to score these players.

Because GIQ does not know an individual league's keeper cost, contract length or number of permitted keepers, the public Keeper board is intentionally a neutral baseline. A player kept for a 12th-round pick can be far more valuable than the same player kept for a first, so cost-specific decisions belong in the manager's league context rather than being invented by the generic ranking.